This March 8, 2024, International Women’s Rights Day, promises to be full of events in France between strikes and the abortion sealing ceremony.
March 8 is an annual meeting for all women in the world. If every year International Women’s Rights Day is a date marked by numerous demonstrations in France as elsewhere, March 8, 2024 promises to be special.
The #grèvefeministe collective launched a call for a strike on “work, domestic tasks and consumption” in mid-February. In order to highlight the inequalities that women are victims of, the collective wants them to stop all activity this Friday. The collective’s call was followed and taken up by five unions (CFDT, CGT, UNSA, FSU and Solidaires) and more than 160 mobilizations are planned this Friday throughout France.
In Paris, a demonstration is planned for 2 p.m. at Place Gambetta in the 20th arrondissement towards Place de la Bastille. In Lyon, demonstrators are invited from 12:30 p.m. on Place Jean-Macé for a picnic and a sign workshop before the start of the demonstration scheduled for 2 p.m. For the city of Marseille, two gatherings are planned. The first will start at 10 a.m. at Place du Général de Gaulle and the second will leave at 2 p.m. from the stairs of Saint-Charles station. In the north, in Lille, the procession will set off at 1:30 p.m. from Place de la République. Other cities are also affected. Like Bordeaux where demonstrators are expected at 12 p.m. at Place de la Victoire. Or Toulouse with a demonstration planned for 2 p.m. at Place du Capitole, with also a sign workshop from 11 a.m.
IVG in the spotlight this March 8, 2024
But this year, March 8 is accompanied by another highly anticipated symbolic event: the official entry of the freedom to resort to abortion into the French Constitution. After the vote on the constitutional law this Monday March 4 by the Parliament gathered in Congress in Versailles, a sealing ceremony is planned this Friday on Place Vendôme, in Paris.
This event will take place at the Ministry of Justice and will be open to the public. On his X account this Monday, President Emmanuel Macron met the public at 12 p.m., Place Vendôme. A speech by the president is expected at 12:10 p.m. BFMTV, before the start of the ceremony scheduled for 12:40 p.m. As the media indicates, all parliamentarians were invited to this ceremony led by the president and the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti.
The idea of dedicating one day a year to the fight for women’s rights dates back to the 19th century. But it was not until 1977 that this project came to fruition. That year, the UN officially established an international day dedicated to women’s rights where events and demonstrations in their favor were organized throughout the world. The origin of March 8 in particular remains quite unclear. In France, the first “March 8” dates back to 1975, when the Women’s Liberation Movement (MLF) gathered to demonstrate against International Women’s Year. A concept put in place by the UN but poorly received by many feminist activists who see it as a recovery of their cause. This date will finally be officially chosen in 1982 after the MLF’s request to President François Mitterrand.